They assign rooms. They give you a code via web, you punch it in and enter your room. No office visit needed. I had room 18, code 16. The door opened. I sleep. Next AM, cops pound on door. Lotta squad cars, like a terror-cell bust. Turns out my room was 16, with code 18. I got it backward, sure, but 1) the bleeping door opened, and 2) what kind of human or other sentient being fails to realize that having code 16 open room 18 and vice-versa is just asking for trouble. The owner, who couldn’t trouble herself to come by before calling the cops, hung back with all the morbid curiosity seekers who had gathered around and she seemed afraid to look at me. When everything got cleared up, the cops seemed disappointed. They don’t take kindly to strangers in these parts.
The motel itself was no better or worse than any quarters you choose for just sleep.